Albanian minister declares war on date shell mussel trade

February 03, 2014|Reuters

* Ban on harvesting of date shell mussels openly flouted

* Minister promises arrest and trial for offenders

* Extraction of date shell mussels harms seabed

By Benet Koleka

TIRANA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Albania's fisheries minister hasdeclared war on a thriving black market in date shell mussels,vowing to enforce a widely flouted ban on harvesting of theendangered species in the hope of saving his country's Adriaticseabed.

The mussels, oblong-shaped like their fruity namesake theArabian date, are harvested by divers who inflict untold damageon the ecosystem by using hammers and chisels to extract themfrom rocks and coral reefs.

Albania's former communist regime outlawed the harvesting ofdate mussels but the delicacy has been openly sold, served andeaten during two decades of democracy despite the continued ban.

"Gathering date shells severely damages the underwatersystem, limestone rocks and coral belt, so I ask you to respectthe law that bans harvesting of the mussel just as everywhereelse in Europe," the minister, Edmond Panariti, told a group offish traders and restaurateurs last week.

"We cannot allow them to turn our coast into a desert," hesaid of the harvesters, noting that one square metre of rock orcoral reef is destroyed for every plate of date shell spaghetti.

Panariti, who took office in September, first vowed lastmonth to halt the "barbaric" trade, but was dismissed as naiveand openly defied two days later by a fellow cabinet ministerwho dined on date shells at a Tirana restaurant, an aide said.

Undeterred, Panariti has now redoubled his efforts,promising arrest and trial for anybody who flouts the ban.

"We are committed to the highest standards of fishing andprocessing fish and mussels," Panariti told Reuters.

TOO LATE?

The harvesting of date shells is banned along the wholeAdriatic coast, with the exception of a thin strip of sea thatbelongs to Bosnia. In the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, one onlineseafood shop offers home delivery at just over $30 per kg.

They are hard to find in European Union member statesSlovenia and Croatia, where offenders face fines of hundreds ofeuros. But they can still be enjoyed in secrecy by those in theknow in Montenegro.

In the Albanian coastal town of Vlore at the weekend, aplate of spaghetti with date shells featured on a restaurantmenu for 800 leks ($7.6) and risotto for 900 leks.

"I really hope they mean it and don't just enforce it for afortnight and later forget about it," said a fishing expert whodeclined to be named.

Others said Panariti's hard line had come too late for theAlbanian coast.